Crocfather
by notaliteraltoad
Summary: What if the brothers were never brought up by Splinter? What if, instead of being trained to be ninjas, they end up as street fighters under Leatherhead's guidance?
1. Lost & Found

**A/N: I wish you could have more than four characters. I had to leave Raph out, but I promise he is in this too!**

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><p>Four tiny, newly mutated turtles huddled together in a dark alleyway, their only source of warmth a tattered blanket pulled up over their small bodies. One of them held his arm awkwardly, the appendage bruised and scraped from where glass from the mutagen canister had cut it. There was a small chunk of plastron missing on that side.<p>

Something huge moved at the other end of the alleyway; a shifting dark mass too big to be animal or human. A scaled tail flickered into view, before disappearing into the shadows.

The baby turtles huddled closer together, hiding further under the grimy blanket.

The figure moved again, shifting closer to the defenseless turtles. Yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness. Sharp fangs caught the moonlight, shining wickedly. But the expression on the creature's face was not one of anger or malice, it was kind.

Kneeling down, the huge lizard scooped up the four babies in large, strong arms. They squeaked in surprise and fear, but the alligator made a deep throated noise of reassurance.

"It's alright, you are safe now," the voice was deep and rough, but not frightening. It had a soft quality about it that seemed to calm the turtles, who had stopped squirming in the creature's grasp.

The alligator moved towards a manhole, using its long tail to take off the lid and move it aside. Slipping quietly down, the alligator moved fluidly into the sewers, replacing the manhole after itself.

Moments later, the alley was silent and empty.

The turtles were safe, and Leatherhead had a new family to care for.


	2. First Steps

**A/N: finally updated! Sorry for the wait (over 6 months, I believe!)**

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><p>The four tiny turtles sat in a lose circle, swaddled in colourful blankets and cushions Leatherhead had managed to find outside an old fabric shop. They were old and frayed at the corners, but the turtles didn't seem to care. They giggled and poked at each other, pulling cute faces as babies do. Leatherhead wondered what it was like, to have no worries about anything. He worried about everything; being seen, being unable to find food, one of the babies getting ill and being unable to help them.<p>

But looking at their little chubby green faces, some of the worry dissipated. He was lucky to have them; they had done a lot for him, even if they were too young to know it.

One of the turtles - Michelangelo, Leatherhead had named him - pushed the orange blanket away from his stubby legs and crawled towards Leonardo, who had spent the last twenty minutes fiddling with a toy Samurai. Mikey tried to pull himself to his feet, using Leo's head as balance. He stood on tiny feet for only a second before wobbling and plopping back down, landing heavily on Leo's blanket.

With a smile, Leatherhead bent his head back down to tinker with the little piece of metal he had been working on; a small toy for the boys.

"Hey, look!" An excited voice still with the lisp of a young child shouted, and Leatherhead looked back up.

Mikey was up again, and this time he had managed to keep his balance - even if he had to hold onto Leo to do so. He beamed at Leatherhead, and each of his three siblings were staring at him in awe; even little Raph, who always wanted to be the best at everything.

Leatherhead set down the little metal figure and leaned forwards, beckoning Mikey forwards with a soft smile. It would be a miracle if he could actually walk all the way over to where he sat, but he was going to encourage him regardless.

Mikey took a tentative step forwards, nervously letting go of Leo's arm. Leo, still staring at Mikey, pouted a little as he watched his brother let go.

"Come on little one," Leatherhead encouraged, holding out a large, scarred hand. Anyone else would have found the sight of the huge claws and scarred skin frightening, but not Mikey. He just grinned, cheeks dimpling, and tried to waddle over.

He only made it four steps before tripping over himself, and he teetered for a moment, giggling. Leatherhead caught him before he fell, lifting him into his massive arms.

The three brothers erupted into childish applause; Donnie clapping his hands, Leo laughing, Raph smiling as if he didn't quite understand what was so impressive but looking proud nonetheless.

"Well done, Michelangelo," he said softly, walking over to set him down beside his brothers again. "Well done, indeed."


End file.
